The c. 1800 Dinsmore Shop is a cooperage that was moved to Strawbery Banke from Dundee, New Hampshire in 1985.

In New England, coopers arrived with the first English settlers in the 1620s and their work was essential to commerce and daily life.

Strawbery Banke’s resident Master Cooper Ron Raiselis is recognized by the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts as one of the few active coopers (wooden barrel maker) in the United States. Ron’s grandfather, Benedict Raiselis, immigrated to the United States from Lithuania and took up the cooper’s trade in Meriden, Connecticut.

Ron began started his journey as a cooper at Sturbridge Village in the 1970s and trained with the renowned cooper Lenny Julian. He demonstrates the skill for visitors and continues to make barrels that are in high demand among Seacoast brewers and beyond.